State of Tennessee Outsourcing Call Center Jobs to India

It isn’t unheard of for industries to outsource jobs and send them overseas. But if the state recently put unemployed Tennesseans to work for Tennessee in a state-run call center in Perry County, why is the state still outsourcing a huge amount of call center work overseas?

Perry County struggles to be a portrait of the American dream. Patriotism waves strong even as prosperity fades and factories close. The county’s unemployment rate is the highest in the state and one of the highest in the nation.”We need the jobs here in the country, not out of the country,” said restaurant owner Betty Bell.

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Her restaurant is one of the few places that’s surviving in a county where fewer people are finding work.”It’s noticeable from the kids at school to the grocery store to everywhere in town,” said Bell.In an effort to help jump-start the county’s economy, the state opened the call center using stimulus money.The 14 part-time operators will help Tennesseans with unemployment claims, but the state needs operators for other spots, too — spots that aren’t being filed with Tennesseans. These jobs are being filled by people who live outside of the United States.The state has a lot of call centers, but at least one is on the other side of world in India. And that’s where the additional jobs are going.

The state has a lot of call centers, but at least one is on the other side of world in India. And that’s where the additional jobs are going.The state is looking at extending a contract to keep the call center and the jobs that go with it in India.

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